Jason Bay smashed two home runs to help the Boston Red Sox hold off the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 in the American League on Saturday.
The outfielder put the Red Sox ahead to stay at 4-3 with a two-run homer in the seventh, then hit a solo-shot in the ninth.
“Thankfully, we get the tack-on run or we’re probably still playing,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona told reporters.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Los Angeles pulled within 5-4 on Torii Hunter’s leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth and had the bases loaded when Howie Kendrick flied out to right to end the game.
Mike Lowell also hit a two-run homer for the Red Sox, who ended a three-game losing streak.
The game was the second for the Angels since the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart in a car crash on Thursday. The Angels beat the Red Sox 6-3 on Friday following a tribute to Adenhart.
Mike Napoli hit two solo home runs for the Angels in the third and fifth innings. Their other run came from on a ground out in the first.
Brad Penny, making his American League debut, was credited with the win. The former Dodgers pitcher went six innings, giving up five hits and three runs. He struck out two and walked two.
Standout closer Jonathan Papelbon earned the save despite struggling in the ninth.
Papelbon gave up a double to Kendry Morales after the home run to Hunter and walked Napolis with one out.
Erick Aybar struck out before Chone Figgins walked to load the bases. Kendrick then hit seven foul balls on an 0-2 count before flying out.
Joe Saunders took the loss, pitching seven innings. He gave up seven hits and four runs, including Bay’s two-run homer.
“I was kicking myself after that pitch,” Saunders said. “I failed to execute that one pitch, and I think that was the difference in the game.”
INDIANS 5, BLUE JAYS 4
Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee lost his second consecutive start as Cleveland remained the American League’s only winless team after losing to Toronto on Saturday.
The Indians have started off 0-5 for the first time in 24 years.
Roy Halladay (2-0), a 20-game winner last season who finished second to Lee in Cy Young balloting, held Cleveland to one run and five hits in seven innings.
Lee (0-2) gave up four runs and seven hits over five innings, and now has a 9.90 ERA.
Aaron Hill had two RBIs for Toronto, which improved to 5-1 — its best start since 2001.
YANKEES 6, ROYALS 1
At Kansas City, Missouri, CC Sabathia rebounded smartly from his disappointing Yankees debut and Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher drove in three runs apiece in New York win.
Sabathia, signed to a US$161 million, seven-year contract in the offseason, gave up only six singles in 7 2-3 scoreless innings. It was a far cry from opening day in Baltimore when the lefty lasted just 4 1-3 innings in a 10-5 loss. Kansas City’s Horacio Ramirez (0-1) gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings.
WHITE SOX 8, TWINS 0
At Chicago, Bartolo Colon pitched six strong innings and Carlos Quentin homered to lead the home team to victory. After a rough spring training, Colon (1-0) handled Minnesota’s lineup with relative ease. He allowed just three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Francisco Liriano (0-2) was tagged for five runs and six hits in 4 2-3 innings for Minnesota.
TIGERS 4, RANGERS 3
At Detroit, Placido Polanco hit a tiebreaking double and five Detroit pitchers combined on a two-hitter.
In other AL games it was:
• Mariners 8, Athletics 5
• Orioles 6, Rays 0
Also See: Hernandez’s pitching forces Marlins’ first loss of the season
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS